Obenseuer/Getting Started

This article was written for build v. 0.4.17, whilst some text remains from pre-overhaul. This may mean it is outdated or otherwise inaccurate for later versions.

Introduction

Congratulations! You have been awarded ownership of an unfinished block of flats in the slum district of Obenseuer. Only, there is a catch: it is right in the midst of an active quarantine zone. Obenseuer is a complex survival-crafting roleplaying game which is, by nature, confusing. There is a lot to learn, so allow this article to serve as a guide for getting started.

Sidenote: Keep in mind that Obenseuer is in active early-access development, it is recommended to contribute to development where you can by providing feedback/bug reports. You can report bugs [here], keep up with development [here] and connect with the community on [Steam] or [Discord].

First Steps

Character Creation

Before starting a new game, you will be prompted to select your difficulty. Currently there are three options: Default, Casual and Custom. Indeed, the first two options are self-explanatory, however Custom is not recommendable for new players. Difficulty settings can be altered in-game through the settings via Options > Difficulty. After choosing difficulty settings you will be prompted to enter some personal information about your character, such as name, surname, age and gender; along with the option to skip the intro cutscene when starting a game.

Entering Obenseuer

You will begin in the waiting room of a border checkpoint. Follow the on-screen instructions regarding key bindings, but make sure to explore the room for items that can be collected. You can sell what you find, or use them later.

Eventually the Interviewer will call for you. Talk with them and answer their questions. For more information, learn more about them here. It is recommended to ask the Interviewer (and other NPCs) some questions about your new life in Obenseuer. You never know what information they might have,

Your main task is to survive; for that you will need money. There are many ways to earn that, but the easiest is bottle-collection. The lady sitting by the entrance will tell you that you should take these bottles to O-Market. A great place to find these bottles (and other resources) is dumpster-diving in bins and sewer grates. Another great way to find items is to explore the map and the surrounding buildings. Apartments often have lots of goodies to be purloined, just try not the get caught.

Speaking of getting caught, jail can be a surprisingly good way to pass time whilst also getting your needs kept. If you find yourself in a rough spot, or in need of skipping some time, you may want to turn yourself in.

Now that you have probably gotten yourself settled, you should probably go see how this new tenement of yours is doing. The first few quests act as a small tutorial to guide you through the rest of the beginning.

The Basics

Everything you need to know in brief. See the main article notes at the top of headings to learn more.

Needs and Addiction

Main article: Needs

Currently there are seven basic needs and five (one spoiler) addictions. They are displayed on the bottom left part of your screen when they differ from ideal values by 33% or more, changing their color gradually from green to pulsating red. Remaining two are special, but we'll talk about them later.

Health

Pretty self-explanatory, health is good for not dying. To restore your health temporarily you can get painkillers. For more permanent solution visit a doctor (just don't eat any turnips the day before that!).

Hunger

How hungry you are. Eat some food, you turnip head!

Thirst

How thirsty you are. Drink water and/or alcohol and you'll be fine.

Sleep Need

That defines how tired you are. You get tired naturally but the player can manually changes how tired they are. Taking a sleeping pill makes you more tired while drinking coffee makes you less tired. Be careful as you can collapse from exhaustion right on the street and that may lead to some unforeseen consequences.

WC Need

Shows you how much you need to visit that one special place. There are many toilets across the map, some of them are free, some are not. You can always skip it and pee yourself or crap your pants, but be aware that you eventually may die from shit seizure (yes, this is a thing).

Depression

Depression is one of the main game "features". To get rid of depression just live a better life - grab a beer or pizza, sleep in a warm cozy place and go to the sauna. If nothing helps, you can also take depression medicine from pharmacy.

Hygiene

Hygiene defines how clean or dirty you are. You get dirty by smoking cigarettes and shroom rollies and eating shit or glowing shit. You can clean yourself by using hand soap or disinfectant and standing under a shower.

Nicotine Addiction

Smoking addiction forces you to smoke another cigarette from time to time. Maximum smoke need won't kill you, but it will increase your depression. If you want to get rid of it completely just start smoking less (or stop smoking at all) and eventually it will go away.

Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction works basically the same way as a nicotine one, but there is a nice touch - being drunk also reduces your depression, but be warned, being too drunk will make you pass out and as mentioned earlier, this may have some consequences.

Shrooms Addiction

Mushroom addiction is quite different to the other addictions as it has an impact on other needs. Eating mushrooms or glowing foods will satisfy the addiction. Having the mushroom addiction makes glowing food taste better and non-glowing foods to taste worse.

Gambling Addiction

Gambling addiction is not a default starting addiction and can only be acquired if the player gambles a lot, or if the player choses the random starting addiction answers during the interview at the start of the game. Gambling need can be met by winning when playing slots and is decreased by losing repeatedly.

SMV

Main article: Stalburg_Mushroom_Virus

Stalburg Mushroom Virus, or simply SMV, is a dangerous disease that awaits you in the world of Obenseuer. Disease progression level and progression rate are two hidden stats that you have no direct control of. Eating those funny looking mushrooms, drinking bad water or simply doing shady things like sleeping on the street may get you SMV infection. It will start slowly, but eventually it will kill you because there is no cure. You can, however, visit a doctor frequently to check for its progression and even perform a surgical removal of the surplus fungus that will buy you some time. Drinking pure ethanol or even methanol will also slow down SMV progression, but this is really dangerous for your health.

Questing

Main article: Quests

Quests are a big part of the gameplay of Obenseuer and will grant you access to many new areas, items and mechanics that can help you in renovating your apartment block, or otherwise aiding you some other way. There is, of course, the main storyline that the game starts you off with, however there are many side quests that are also waiting to be played through. A good way to find these quests is to talk with NPCs and interact with pretty much anything you can.

Note: As Obenseuer is in early-access, a lot of content regarding the story is currently incomplete or otherwise unimplemented, the main story especially. As such, some players have advised against completing too much of the main quest so as to preserve freshness when the game is in a more complete state.

Vendors

Main article: Shop Vendors

Vendors have set opening hours and days of the week that they work. Many follow this pattern, but certain special vendors like 'Tenement Contract Work!' and 'O-Market' are open 24/7. They will deal in either Open Sewer Coin (OS) and/or Real Money (RM). RM is generally associated with higher value services or items than OC. In case you need to convert between currencies to make a purchase, you can use the Money_Exchange in the Kolhola building to do so.

Managing Your Tenement

Cleaning and Renovating

Main articles: Cleaning_Mode, Renovations

By now you have likely been introduced to Malone Petronis, who would have instructed you to renovate an apartment and rent it out as part of the main quest. So, how do you go about this?

You should use the tenement supply box in Tenement Contract Work! to temporarily store any unnecessary items you may have in your inventory. Items you will need are:

1. Skeida_Pharmacy
   • Disinfectant
   • Face masks
2. O-Market
   • Bleach
   • Cleaning spray
3. Hardware Stall
   • Axe
   • Sledgehammer

All of these items can be found or stolen from around the map. For instance, there is a free axe and a lot of cleaning supplies to be found in the Kolhola building. Now pick a flat of your choosing and use Cleaning Mode (default "L" key) to clear it of trash, rubble, furniture and bodies. If an area has an infestation of green mushrooms, put on a face mask for protection. If a room or apartment is blocked off, use either your axe or sledgehammer to break that barrier down.

Now that the apartment is clean and tidy, go back to Tenement Contract Work! and decide on your first renovation. A good first option will the Makeshift Walls, but Makeshift Apartment Heating or Makeshift Apartment Bathroom are also good alternatives, as they are cheaper and quicker. Note that all tenants will want Makeshift Walls of some kind.

Renting and Tenants

Main articles: Renting, Tenants

Tenants are some of the NPCs you will have seen loitering around Obenseuer. Some will have higher standards than others; certain NPCs will have the absolute minimal requirements, such as Pate Rantanen whilst others will have higher standards, such as Kirka and Hall Kääbus. You may notice that tenants with higher standards will have greater incomes, thus paying higher rent. Also notice how some pay rent in RM and some pay rent in OC, or both.

Rent can be improved by renovating your property to higher standards, including tenement flats. Malone and, if you chose the starting option, Crazy_Neighbor will permanently take up apartments without paying rent.

Conclusion

There is a lot more in Obenseuer for you to discover and experience for yourself. A lot that is, as happens, beyond the scope of this short starter guide. So get out there, turnip boy/girl/whatever!